'Fairness in Firearm Testing' (or 'Shining a Spotlight on the Cockroaches')

I have been writing a bit of late about H.R. 4900, the number of co-sponsors it has been drawing, and the possibility that it might at least somewhat blunt the BATFE's attacks on Americans and the Constitution. As I pointed out Friday, though, I don't expect this legislation to be of much help in preventing another David Olofson outrage.

From War on Guns today, we learn of a bill that perhaps would go a long way toward reining in at least one of the BATFE's favorite methods of persecuting citizens (a method they used to telling effect against Mr. Olofson). H.R. 1791, the Fairness in Firing Testing Act of 2007, would outlaw the BATFE's practice of submitting heavily edited (and quite questionable) video footage of the firearm testing as "evidence" of a violation.

As War on Guns points, out, though, this bill has languished in committee since April of last year, and will presumably die there. That's more than unfortunate--the lack of action on this bill is a tacit endorsement of the BATFE's use of perjury to imprison American citizens.

Assuming H.R. 1791 goes nowhere, if H.R. 4900 passes in the House, I hope a pro-rights Senator introduces an amendment containing the language of H.R. 1791.

Again, I'm not so naive as to think that the BATFE can be "reformed" sufficiently (there's no "reforming" one's way around the fact that the agency's very mission is blatantly unconstitutional). Also, as has been pointed out to me, even outright disbandment of the BATFE would amount only to the cutting off of one of the hydra's heads--the only real solution is to get the entire federal government out of the business of infringing that which shall not be infringed.

Still, the epidemic of gun laws we now face was inflicted on us, for the most part, one law at a time--perhaps the cure will have to be approached with similar patience.